Andre Russell from Jamaica, made his ODI debut in the 2011 World Cup against Ireland. By then, he had already played one Test against Sri Lanka in 2010. He impressed a lot of people with his...Full profile

Andre Russell from Jamaica, made his ODI debut in the 2011 World Cup against Ireland. By then, he had already played one Test against Sri Lanka in 2010. He impressed a lot of people with his energy in his first few games in the 2011 World Cup. A bustling pacer, he is a powerful lower middle-order batsman too.

Russell did not fare well in the series against Pakistan immediately after the 2011 World Cup. However, he came into his own in the ODI series against India soon after. Russell made a superlative 92 not out in the the third game. In the same match, he also picked up a wicket, effected a run out and took a catch. Despite his best efforts, West Indies lost the game and the series.

In the fourth match, he played a nice cameo with the bat and also took three wickets to plunge India to defeat. He got even better in the fifth match, picking up four wickets and earned the Man of the Match award. With West Indies looking to build a team for the future, Russell at that time came across as one of the brightest prospects around. He even impressed the likes of Sir Vivian Richards, but just like many other cricketers from the West Indies, Russell has struggled for consistency.

The early promise then faded away a touch, but Russell continued to remain a force to reckon with in the abbreviated versions of the game. In the first edition of the CPL, Russell slammed 203 runs at an astronomical strike rate of 189.71 with the cherry on the cake being his 18-ball-33 in the final, powering Jamaica Tallawahs to the title.

He is also the only bowler in T20s to snatch four wickets in four balls. He accomplished the feat against India A in 2013. After some fleeting appearances for Delhi, he was signed up by Kolkata in the Indian T20 League in 2014, where he had a few decent outings and was part of a winning side. Russell also helped Jamaica Tallawahs reach the knock-out stages of the CPL, he amassed 219 runs and was the third highest run-getter for his team. Due to these performances, Big Bash team Melbourne Renegades signed up Russell for the fourth edition. The allrounder had to leave halfway through the tournament because of national commitments. He went to South Africa and was part of the T20I and ODI sides. Russell also made it to his second 50-over World Cup as the selectors named him in the 15-man squad.

He played a few blistering cameos as the West Indies ended with a quarterfinal finish.

Life was going the merry way for big Russell before the doping controversy hit him later that year. The Jamaica anti-doping commission charged him for not reporting his whereabouts - a clause that he violated as many as three times. The incident meant that he wasn't considered for the national team thereafter with the trial going on at that time. Eventually, Russell was found guilty by the panel handling the investigation of the same and got handed a one-year ban, starting from January 31, 2017.

Russell's absence is certainly a blow to Windies' limited-overs fortunes considering the impeccable balance he provided to the side. There are plenty of hard-hitting all-rounders in West Indies but to get one of Russell's caliber is a tough one. Expectation is that he comes back hard once his ban expires and also ensures that no such incidents affect him again. Because otherwise, it will be another classic case of potential going down the drains.